Tuesday, 13 September 2016

Scores of Palestinians were injured in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, in various circumstances related to Eid celebrations, medical sources and the Ministry of Health in Gaza said.

Thirty-three Palestinians in Gaza City sustained finger cutting injuries while slaughtering sheep for the Eid sacrifice, while two others fell from swings and sustained bruises at Eid celebrations. All were evacuated and treated, according to sources from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

In Rafah City in the the northern Gaza Strip, more than 90 Palestinians were injured when sacrificial calves attacked them during slaughtering, while others were injured during botched slaughterings.

Dozens were also injured in other areas in the Gaza Strip with different wounds in similar incidents on the first day of Eid, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.

Eid al-Adha -- the Feast of Sacrifice -- is one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar.

The sacrifice of the animal usually takes place after Eid prayers, with families distributing the meat among relatives, friends, neighbors, and the poor.

As the near decade-long Israeli blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into poverty, the expensive ritual can be an immense financial burden for Gazan families.
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